This Is What It Looks Like When a Ball Club Goes Out of Business

A vintage Newark Cubs poster, part of a liquidation sale by the Newark Bears.

Courtesy Newark Bears

The Newark Bears is a little known outpost of professional baseball but when its equipment is auctioned off this weekend it will mark the end of a team whose nearly 100 year pedigree goes back to the old Negro League and whose uniforms have been worn by stars like Jackie Robinson, Yogi Berra and Rickey Henderson.

One of the items team owner Doug Spiel will auction off at the stadium Saturday will be the team's name in the hope that someone might revive it, such as a corporation or even a relocation to another city.

The previous owner Rick Cerone, a former Yankees catcher, tried to revive the Bears with a new brick stadium in 1999 and a $34 million boost from Essex County. He eventually sold his interest to Spiel and his former wife, Danielle Dronet, who were baseball and development enthusiasts. But the two failed to guide the team to success.

Last year, the team placed last in the five-team Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball. Their record was 37-63 record. With waning attendance but avoiding bankruptcy, Spiel is liquidating the Bears' gear.

Courtesy Newark Bears

PHOTO: A Newark Bears framed black jersey, the team's 2005-2008 design, with trading cards of the team's players mounted above it, as part of a liquidation sale by the Newark Bears.

The team began in 1917, eventually sharing a stadium with the Newark Eagles of the Negro League and one of its players was the Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson. Berra played as a Bear.

In recent years stars like Rickey Henderson, Jose Canseco and Pete Incaviglia played for the Bears while trying to prolong their careers.

Spiel said he will miss the camaraderie on the field and working with the athletes, but the experience owning the team left in "everlasting" impression on him and his 11-year old son, who Spiel says now has an "incredible" love of the sport.

The most financially valuable item in tomorrow's auction is likely the team bus, which may be worth between $215,000 and $275,000, according to Michael Korybski, junior accountant for the Newark Bears.

Courtesy Newark Bears

PHOTO: The MCI J4500 team bus, included as part of the Newark Bears' liquidation sale.

Otherwise, many of the items boast of historical significance over monetary value.

"The team naming rights, the uniforms: it's a part of their history," William Barron, the auctioneer, said. "A lot of people who have played here have played in Major League Baseball... It's a way for fans to get a first-hand piece of memorabilia."